Hi there I just finished Soma for the first time today despite having it ever since it came out. Can you guess why? It was because of the Flesher. One I ran into him I was done with the game and any other horror game that doesn’t let you fight back. Then Frictional released a new Safe Mode and I was able to plow through it and experiences the story and atmosphere the game had to offer.

That said I want to touch up on my thoughts about the game and Safe Mode.

There are only two things about the story that I ddin’t real like

Spoilers!

1. that killing the Wau didn’t really amount to anything and the fact that Simon Jarrett acted like a massive jerk when the version when he got left behind. He should’ve known how it worked by then and doesn’t make me like the Ark version either since he’d behaved the same way in the same situation being the same person and all.

I had a little more time to think about the story since writing that paragraph and I think I’ve changed my mind about Simon. Keeping in mind that he’s 100 years from the past his brain (or what’s left of it) still hasn’t come to terms with the reality of the situation that’s his in.

I think the Ark is a metaphor for heaven, in the sense that it’s a paradise among the stars but also in a sense I question it’s true purpose. I think maybe the ark isn’t meant to preserve humanity but simply protect the survivor from the reality of their situation. That is the fact that they’re in a box floating in outer space that will eventually stop working and the entire species is pretty much extinct.

About Safe Mode

I really can’t thank Frictional enough for the safe mode. I don’t cope well with horror games where I can’t fight back and while I was able to finish Amnesia I thought Soma was much scarier. To those who criticise the safe mode I also wish to remind people that Silent Hill 2 wildly considered the best survival horror game ever made did the same thing. Beginner made made you invincible. I always try it on normal first and switch to safe mode if the game becomes to much. I hope you guys consider adding it to your other titles too, since I think it would add reply value.

I will say that if Soma had a little combat and RPG mechanics it would easily be the next System Shock or perhaps a truer Bioshock since I didn’t like Bioshock.

Quote:I think the Ark is a metaphor for heaven, in the sense that it’s a paradise among the stars but also in a sense I question it’s true purpose. I think maybe the ark isn’t meant to preserve humanity but simply protect the survivor from the reality of their situation. That is the fact that they’re in a box floating in outer space that will eventually stop working and the entire species is pretty much extinct.

My interpretation of the ARK is that it's a second chance for what's left of humans to figure out a way to survive. We don't really know what the ARK and the satellite it's attached to are capable of, but we do know that the people inside are able to control it. We also know that the ARK has 50 or so people on board, virtually all of which are experts in a science- or engineering-related field, and that they have potentially thousands of years before the ARK breaks down. Given that it took humans a little over a hundred to go from developing the first sterling and electric engine to building nuclear power plants and walking on the moon, it's really not that big of a stretch to imagine that they could very well figure out a way to save themselves in that time.

Quote:I think the Ark is a metaphor for heaven, in the sense that it’s a paradise among the stars but also in a sense I question it’s true purpose. I think maybe the ark isn’t meant to preserve humanity but simply protect the survivor from the reality of their situation. That is the fact that they’re in a box floating in outer space that will eventually stop working and the entire species is pretty much extinct.

My interpretation of the ARK is that it's a second chance for what's left of humans to figure out a way to survive. We don't really know what the ARK and the satellite it's attached to are capable of, but we do know that the people inside are able to control it. We also know that the ARK has 50 or so people on board, virtually all of which are experts in a science- or engineering-related field, and that they have potentially thousands of years before the ARK breaks down. Given that it took humans a little over a hundred to go from developing the first sterling and electric engine to building nuclear power plants and walking on the moon, it's really not that big of a stretch to imagine that they could very well figure out a way to save themselves in that time.

That's an intresting view though I didn't think they could control it. I thought it was so they could live out the rest of a thousands years before the power goes out. If the Ark is heaven then Patrhos II is purgatory and the WUA is hell. At least that's how I saw it. To me it made since since death and dying is a strong theme of the game. The main character having a terminal illness and all.

Good heavens, Simon would be the only one of 50 people who isn't some type of engineer or scientist, and to top it off he lacks a lot of knowledge a regular person would have since he timejumped from over a decade ago.
He would be bullied and mocked for an eternity among the stars.